Future of surgery likely includes fewer and less invasive procedures

May 06, 2015

IN THE NEWS: The future of surgery is limited, according to Dr. Jaime Landman, professor and chair, Department of Urology, UC Irvine. Driven by rapid advances in fusion, 3-D printing and robotics, the number of times patients will need invasive surgery will be significantly reduced.

According to Landman, innovations are occurring so quickly that many procedures that we accept as being normal today are changing almost daily. He believes that the future of surgery encompasses fewer incisions, increased used of robotics and decreased operating room medical waste. He shared his vision at the Newport Beach Public Library, and the Orange County Register was there to cover his presentation.

Fusion of existing technologies is already an industry game changer, with Landman predicting that the traditional colonoscopy scope will soon be replaced by a pill-sized camera. The doctor and his students are currently using 3-D printing technology to find ways to help reduce some of the medical waste that comes from the operating room. Their goal is to develop a process by which surgical equipment can be melted down and sterilized after an operation. He said that robot-assisted surgery will become increasingly important and widespread, as precision will soon improve to the point that machines will be able to track surgeons’ eye movements for the camera to follow.